Welsh Journals

The syndicalist view of leaders was stated at some length in the Miners' Next Step, the plausible statement of policy issued by the syndicalist group in the Rhondda Valley during the strike of 1912. One of the principal proposals contained in this notorious document was to exclude all officials from the Federation Executive. The agents were to be deprived of a voice in the formulation of policy and were to be confined to administrative work- carrying out the decisions of a lay executive." The alleged reason for this proposal was that Federation government should be made more democratic. The officials seem to think however, that the real object was to secure government not by the rank and file but by the small proportion of advanced men who regularly attend and domin- ate lodge meetings. It is certain, at any rate, that the syndicalists could more easily capture a lay executive and mould it to their views, than they could an executive consisting of officials who are fortified by experience gained in the process of conducting negotiations with representatives of the employers. The ordinary miner who slates his leaders may not be in sympathy with syndicalist aims, and most probably he does not understand them. There can be no doubt, however, that the lay executive proposal is receiving increasing support, and it is probable that in the course of the next few years, the proportion of the unofficial members of the Executive will constantly increase, and some of these, at any rate, will be syndicalists. The hostility of the syndicalists and their ultra- socialist allies to the official leaders is only surpassed by their antagonism to capitalism and capitalists. The capitalists reciprocate the feeling and the extremists amongst them would not hesitate to adopt extreme measures to bring the men to heel. Some of the miners' officials are old-fashioned enough to believe that the interests of masters and men are intimately connected with one another. Both socialists and syndicalists are strongly opposed to this idea, and it is part of their mission to preach class antagonism. In the Miners' Next Step the latter plead the old policy of indentity of interest between employers and ourselves be abolished and a policy of open hostility installed," and that a continual agitation be carried on in favour of in- creasing the minimum wage and shortening the hours of work until we have extracted the whole of the employer's profits." The objective of the syndicalists may not be realised in its entirety; there can be no doubt, however, that the propaga- tion of class hatred which forms the basis of their insidious and never-ceasing propaganda, is bound to lead to great industrial trouble during the next few years. The syndicalist school is opposed to conciliation boards, but they have not hitherto felt themselves strong enough to demand the overthrow of this method of adjusting differences between employers and men. An attack by the syndicalists on the system will probably be made, however, in the near future, and an attempt will be made also to establish a new principle of wage assessment. In South Wales miners' wages follow prices. If the selling prices of coal increase, wages increase if prices fall, owners demand wage reductions. The syn- dicalists contend that this principle is a wrong one. Wages, they say, should be the first charge on the industry, and should have no relation to the selling price of coal. The present system enables owners to receive the same margin of profit when wages are high as when wages are low, and so nothing is done to break down the capitalist system. The syndicalist demand is that the Federation should maintain a constant agitation to diminish hours of labour and increase remuneration until the coal- owners profits disappear. Much will be heard of this proposal in the immediate future, and although it may not receive general support by the men, the fact of its enunciation will not tend to the best of good feeling towards the men on the part of the employers. It may be objected that undue importance has been attached by the writer to the socialist and syndicalist agitations in the South Wales coalfield. The proportion of men of advanced socialist and syndicalist views, it is true, is not large, but their enthusiam is great, and they include in their ranks some able and intelligent men, Past and present experience also show that the men are always ready to accept extreme views, especially when these coincide with their own interests, while their hosti- lity to and distrust of the coalowners, also, are very strong. The soil is fruitful, therefore, and the syndicalists and their allies are busily sowing the seeds of dissension. The mind of the miner is being steadily inclined against both his leaders and his employers, and the Federation is being com- mitted to policies which are too advanced for its membership. Two safeguards are needed. First, that the men should be persuaded to take a greater interest in the business of their lodges. Secondly, that they should be sufficiently educated in economic and political matters to be able to arrive at sound judgments on the propositions submitted to them by the minori- ties who now dominate the lodges. How these